Verbal are words that express action in a general sense, without limiting the action to any time, or asserting it to any subject. They basically refer to words that are based on a verb but are not used as a verb; rather they are used as nouns or adjectives.
There are 3 types of Verbal:
- Gerunds,
- Participles and
- Infinitives
Gerunds
A gerund is a verbal that ends in ‘-ing’ and functions as a noun. In other words, when a verb becomes a noun, it is called a gerund. Since it functions as a noun, it occupies the same position in a sentence that a noun ordinarily would such as subject, direct object, subject complement, and object of a preposition. Words like swimming, tying, dreaming, eating, fishing, and drinking can all be used as gerunds.
List of sentences with gerunds:
- Traveling might satisfy your desire for new experiences.
- Blowing bubbles on a windy day is a fun activity for children. (‘Blowing bubbles on a windy day is the subject of the verb ‘is’.)
- Piling too much laundry into a washing machine will cause it to malfunction. (‘Piling too much laundry into a washing machine’ is the subject of the verb ‘will cause’.)
- Ethan narrowly avoided driving off the cliff. (‘Driving off the cliff’ is the direct object of the verb ‘avoided’.)
- Eating ice cream on a hot day can be a good way to cool off. (‘Eating ice cream on a hot day is the subject of the verb ‘can be’.)
- Jessica really enjoys bothering the neighbors with loud music. (‘Bothering the neighbors with loud music is the direct object of the verb ‘enjoys’.)
Participles
A participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed. It has some features of verbs and some adjectives, but it is basically a type of adjective. There are two types of participles: Present participles and Past participles.
Present participles usually describe what a thing does and Past Participles usually describe what was done to a thing.
Examples:
- She is buying a talking bird for her daughter. [Present Participle]
- A broken clock stood on the mantelpiece. [Past Participle]
Infinitives
An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word ‘to’ plus a verb and functioning as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
Example: To wait seemed foolish when action was required.
Note: Be sure not to confuse an infinitive, a verbal consisting of ‘to’ +verb with a prepositional phrase beginning with to, which consists of ‘to’+ a noun or pronoun and any modifiers.